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Labour would halt Gove's A-level plan

The move to decouple AS-levels from A-levels is set to be introduced in September 2015. Credit: Chris Radburn/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Controversial plans by Education Secretary Michael Gove to hive off AS-levels as a stand-alone qualification would be ditched by a Labour government, shadow schools minister Kevin Brennan said today.

In a letter to the exams regulator Ofqual, Mr Brennan said Labour had concerns it would damage attempts to encourage poorer students to go to university, and narrow choice for teenagers considering their futures.

If Labour were to win the general election in 2015, they would not go ahead with the move to decouple AS-levels from A-levels, he said.

The proposal, set out by Mr Gove in January, is due to be introduced in September 2015. If Labour were to take office in May that year, it would mean a last-minute overhaul of the A-level system to halt the change before the autumn.